Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2017 Weekly checkins
>
Week 45: 11/3 – 11/9
I've still got a handful of books to go, I don't know that I'll finish but may bleed into 2018 a bit because I have a couple more lengthy choices. I finished 2 this week; All my Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews (book set in 2 time periods) and Double Love by Francine Pascal (SVH) for book I loved as a child.
QOTW: I'm so excited about next years list!! I haven't noticed any that I'm not happy with; a couple that I'll probably struggle with a bit like the Nordic noir but I'm really excited about a lot of them. True Crime, psychology , grief or death, feminism, lgbtqia. I'm also planning on trying to fit as many minority and marginalized protagonists and authors as I can this year.
Mod
I finished one book this week, and I hated it.
Gone Without a Trace by Mary Torjussen - the writing and dialogue were so stilted and the characters were as complex as cardboard and the motivations were ridiculous. I suppose this could work for "unreliable narrator" ... but I'm not exactly recommending it. 1 star!
QOTW Next year I'm planning to do both Popsugar and Around the Year, and I'm going to overlap whenever possible (count one book towards both challenges) so I'm having fun thinking of books that will work for both.
I'm excited about a lot of my picks, and it's hard to choose just one! I guess the standout for me is "author with the same name as you" - I'm lucky to have a common last name, and there is a book I've been meaning to read for a long time now. Let's see, I'm also pretty excited about anti-hero, Nordic noir, heist, real person, microhistory, and set at sea.
Those aren't necessarily the first books I'll read though! I like to get started with a short book, to start off with a bang, and a book I'm kind of dreading, just to get that over with.
Can I say though I am SO happy there isn't a page number prompt this year!! I was scared it was going to go up again and I just can't, it's not that I couldn't read a thousand page book it's that I legitimately found it hard to find an 800 I was interested in, most books just are in the 2-500 page range and finding something over that limits me.
Good Morning. I feel like my life is in shambles as we prepare for a house move. Its true what they say, messy room messy mind and that's what I'm feeling right now since there's boxes everywhere. With that said, my reading has slowed down and my attention span is nearly non-existent at this point. I finished one book, and started two.
Finished The Likeness. I forgot how wordy this author gets but it was really helpful to have the audiobook and the e-book so I could listen on the treadmill.
I started Rome and started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I couldn't pick what I wanted to read next (again, no attention span) so I'm in to both which I generally hate doing but its working for me this time. None of this fits an open prompt so I'm still at 36/40 and 11/12.
I have a weekend trip planned to see family so its doubtful that I'll get reading done but who knows! Maybe I'll read a ton on the car ride and surprise myself.
QOTW I'm looking forward to true crime, next book in a series, LGBTQ+, mental health, book borrowed, published in 2018, Goodreads choice winner, meant to read in 2017, and favorite prompt from past popsugar challenge (which was one of my suggestions!)
Happy Thursday! This morning when I walked out the door the air smelled like snow! Not much gets me as excited as that smell! Any other snow fans?!This week I finished two books that did not fit in the challenge.
The Handmaid's Tale - honestly, I hated this book. I thought the writing was very cumbersome and there wasn't much of a story line. I thought that just as things were starting to get interesting the book ended! I can see why people liked the book but I still wouldn't recommend.
Symptoms of Being Human - this book had to be previewed before it could be put on our shelves so I volunteered. It was an alright book. I found the main character very realistic but also very frustrating. I think a lot of people should read this book to help open their minds a little and to help understand something a lot of people have never heard of (being gender-fluid).
QOTW: Thank you for this question! I was reading through some of the discussions yesterday and was so disappointed at our group! One of the main purposes of this challenge is to expand your reading and CHALLENGE yourself! You're not going to like every prompt and some you might even despise but that's the point of something like this - take you out of your comfort zone in a safe environment. Please don't give up on prompts because you "don't like Halloween books" or "don't like any 'local' authors". Give it a chance and you might be surprised! Rant over.
Now to actually answer your question, these are the prompts I'm really looking forward to:
-Nordic Noir (never heard of it before)
-a book set in a country that fascinates you (LOVE reading books set in/about different countries)
-a book about mental health (so many ways to interpret)
-a book tied to your ancestry (this was something I suggest and I was SO EXCITED to see it added! so many approaches you could take to this)
Yay :)
Hello from Cleveland! We have our first snow in the forecast tonight (hopefully they are right when they predict just a dusting!) and it's been chilly during the daytime. I finally convinced my change-adverse husband to let me buy us flannel sheets, so I'm very excited to get those! I can feel my previous child self cringing at the boring adult I have become.I swapped out the book bought on a trip because I was just not feeling my original pick, so I ended up reading Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park, which I bought 15+ years ago on a family trip to Yellowstone. I can see why I never made it through at the time, because it's basically a dry run-through of all deaths in the park. Some were interesting, most mundane, but I appreciated the author was a lawyer and a ranger there, so he had some interesting commentary.
I was ready to give it 3* to acknowledge how much original research he did, but then I got to the chapter on suicides. When he started to describe them as "intriguing" and "romantic," I had to stop reading for a minute to calm down. There is *nothing* intriguing or romantic about people being so hopeless that they feel they have no option but to commit suicide. He also, without warning, included some pictures of the deceased, and though they were B&W and grainy and really didn't show much, I found it sort of disturbing and very disrespectful.
QOTW: I feel like the 2018 list is better overall in having fewer prompts that require specific, non-reading actions. I'm really excited for true crime, LGBT+ protganist, adapted as play/musical (the one I really wanted!), childhood classic, tied to ancestry, and microhistory. I'm not sure how I feel about the favorite prompt from a prior year, but it let me choose "nonfiction," so I'm happy about that. I was also pretty intrigued researching the local author prompt.
Hi from Germany!I have finally started the book for my last prompt (+800 p.) which I had dreaded. I am currently reading Kinder der Freiheit (in English Edge of Eternity). Literal translation of the German title is children of freedom (or liberty). I had read the first two books in the trilogy a few years ago. I liked them, but somehow did not feel the urge to read the last instalment. Then I found the book at the free bookshelf in our teacher's lounge and now (after 500+ pages) I find myself actually enjoying it.
QOTW:
I was one of the people who were disappointed in some of the new prompts because I felt restricted so much by some that seemed so narrowly-put. After some researching, though, I have changed my opinion about most of them and am actually looking forward to the next challenge.
In the current challenge I restricted myself too much for quite some time (being strict about the interpretation of the prompts) and ended up being unhappy with the challenge for quite some time because it made reading not fun anymore. This changed only after some of you told me to relax about it more. So thank you for that!
So I've decided to try and choose more books for the prompts next year that are from genres I like and feel comfortable and excited reading. I agree that it is good to expand your horizon, but I am working a lot already and want reading to be fun and relaxation most of the time. It's my hobby, not my job. I am going to be more lenient towards myself next year. Also I felt like reading and participating in this and other groups here helped to put it into perspective.
So I like the Nordic Noir (actually one of my favorite genres), since I am going to read quite some books of this genre anyway;
I like the book about feminism, the book read by a stranger in a public place and the recommendation by another Popsugar challenge participant.
Hello from Italy! It's a really rainy day here, and all I would like to do is stay in bed and read. Instead I'm at work *sigh*It's bein a while since I last reported any update. I'm not done with the challenge yet, and the only prompt I have left are the one I don't like :(
This week I've finished King's 11/22/63 (finally found a book of this author I like!) for the "a book with a month or day of the week in the title" prompt.
And I'm currently reading Dan Brown's Origin just because.
I've also started Pax by Sara Pennypacker, but I think I'm going to leave it for next year challenge.
QOTW: I really like LGBTQ+ prompt and the villain/antihero one!
Good morning, everyone! This morning, I had to go start my car & let it warm up to defrost the windows. With lows in the 30s & 40s, and highs in the upper 50s-mid 60s for the next week, we are finally into fall. Hooray!Finished:
The Vampire's Mail Order Bride by Kristen Painter. The title sounds terrible, but it was a fun little book to read. Not quite a cozy mystery, because there wasn't really a mystery to be solved, but kind of the equivalent, I guess.
Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Robert Marasco. This was an audiobook I got to listen to around Halloween (too late), but still decided to listen to it because it was supposed to be a good haunted house story. I was terribly disappointed. I didn't care for it at all - I didn't ever get scared (I don't like super scary/horror, but I expected something), and I didn't care for the characters or the story at all. Bummer.
Currently Reading:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. My son and I are slowing making our way through book five. There are some longer chapters in this one, so some nights, we don't have time to read a chapter & choose not to start one & have to stop halfway through, so we just put it off a night. It's slow, but it's kind of nice to take our time to go through the series instead of rushing to see how fast we can get the books read.
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country's Foremost Relationship Expert by John M. Gottman. Still working on this one for my Sunday school class.
Motherhood Comes Naturally by Jill Smokler. Still reading a few pages of this on occasional nights, just before I go to bed.
The Bermuda Privateer by William Westbrook. This is an ARC I got from Netgalley quite a while back that I'm just now getting to. I'm not very far in, so we'll see how it goes over the next week or so.
My Dog Is Better Than Your Dog by Tommy Greenwald. My son & I started reading this book last night when we didn't have time for the 28-page chapter in OotP. It has lots of little short chapters, so it will be a good in-between book.
Challenge Progress:
I finished the 2017 Popsugar challenge on 09/08/17. I've read 86 out of 100 books for my 2017 Goodreads challenge, so I think I'm going to make it. I've read books that start with 23 of the 26 letters of alphabet, and just need J, X, and Z to finish.
QOTW:
I'm really looking forward to a lot of the prompts next year. Yes, there are some that I'm not happy about, but I will try to read them early & get them out of the way so that I can save my favorite topics for later. Some of my favorites are the Halloween, LGBTQ+, mental health, book from previous Popsugar challenge, animal in the title, weather element in the title, time travel, book set in a country that fascinates you, etc. Can't wait to get 2018 started!
Good morning, friends! Finished
- How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia - I used this for Read Harder's "a book set more than 5000 miles away from you" prompt. Another masterpiece by Mohsin Hamid. Brings me to 22/24 for that challenge.
- The Bees - I used this one for Popsugar's "nonhuman perspective" prompt. It was very odd, but not unenjoyable. Now at 38/40 for this challenge.
In Progress
- Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman - A really fascinating read so far.
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - I have a question for the group! I know we have a lot of fans of this book here. I'm about 90 pages into the book, and I have a question that will probably decide whether I keep reading it or not - I'm fine with spoilers on this one, but I'll tag my question: (view spoiler) Thanks to anyone who can answer, and if you want to tag your own reply for spoilers, you'd write < spoiler > and < / spoiler > on either side of the text (with the spaces removed - I've left them in so you can see how to format it).
QOTW
I really like most of 2018's prompts! Excited for true crime, particularly, since that's a genre I love that's often difficult to fit in. My goal is to complete the 2018 challenge using books by non-white authors, so I'm having fun tracking down books that interest me that will fit the bill.
Good morning, all! I've been reflecting on how much my reading life has changed in just two short years since I declared I wanted to read more and started carving out time. I joined a book club and found the reading challenge in early 2016 and though I didn't finish it, I was not deterred and I'm on pace to complete this year's!Finished: Written on Your Skin which turned out to be a really interesting romance with a spy thriller plot.
The Keeper of Lost Things which is for my book club and I sobbed my way through the final pages last night.
Currently Reading: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, which I took a break from because it got so intense and harrowing. Knowing it's a true story was really overwhelming! But I look forward to going back to it.
QOTW: I'm excited about a LOT of the 2018 prompts. Mostly the ones that are outside of my usual reading habits, like Nordic noir (?!) and tied to my ancestry.
Good morning! These past few weeks have been quite hectic with work/deadlines and moving, so I haven't been able to get as much reading in as I wanted to. Finished
- The Runaway Wife - A book set in the wilderness. Takes place in the Swiss Alps, and has an interesting premise, but the ending fell a little flat for me.
- The Story of My Life by Helen Keller - A book by or about a person who has a disability. A really interesting read about Helen Keller from her own perspective. Not my favorite book, however, as I didn't mesh well with her writing style and kept falling asleep while reading.
So, now I'm at 31/40 for the regular challenge, 9/12 for the advanced challenge, with a total of 40/52. I have books lined up for all the other prompts, so I think I can work my way through the remainder of the challenge by the New Year, especially when work slows down around Thanksgiving and Christmas later this year.
Currently Reading
- The Rules of Magic - A book recommended by a librarian. I won this book during a giveaway and watched Practical Magic on Halloween, so I feel like it's timely to read it now. I'm interpreting librarian liberally since I go to the library much anymore. I'm really, really enjoying this book so far!
QOTW
I'm looking forward to quite a few of the 2018 prompts -- I love true crime, a book tied to my ancestry, and I'm kinda excited/kinda dreading looking for a book authored by someone with the same name as me -- that should be an interesting one!
Hello! I I'm happy to report that I finished the 2017 Popsugar challenge on 6 Nov. The last category I checked off was the "book with a day of the week or month in the title. Through most of the year I'd penciled in August Is A Wicked Month, but I could never muster the right mood to start it. Then I heard about China Mieville's new nonfiction book called October: The Story of the Russian Revolution, and checked it out of the library, and while it seems like a good book I got about 40 pages into it and realized, though it's well-written, I was starting to dread picking it up every evening, and I kept falling asleep before I'd gotten more than two pages. I ended up turning it back in instead of renewing it, and picked up Saturday by Ian McEwan. Yet again, another very slow-moving opening! I was starting to think this task was cursed, but after reading some reviews that recommended not taking the main character at face value, I started getting into it. By the last 20% I just stayed up late to finish it.So of course as soon as I finished Saturday, I had to pick up yet another slow-moving book for one of my other GR groups: The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa because it's due back at the library soon. But after that I think I'll find myself some less literary relax reads for the holidays. I actually read only challenge books up until September of this year, then started mixing in other books that didn't fit tasks, so I'm up to almost 70 for the year so far.
I'm also reading Tartuffe by Moliere on the Serial Reader app on my phone (does anyone else have this app? I love it!) and listening to Yes, Chef on audio because I always have a physical book, serial book, and audiobook in progress at all times :)
I'm already obsessing over my 2018 challenge spreadsheet! I'm especially excited about nordic noir, and after perusing the Subway Book Review instagram I'm rather excited to seek out a few books I noticed strangers reading publicly (I doubt I could find anyone reading in public where I live, but perhaps I just have to start paying attention.)
Hello group,Tonight it may snow here... that makes me happy. :)
I finished this morning Throne of Glass and finally I found it entertaining. Not everything was predictable. I may continue with the serie.
I am now reading Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race and it would work toward the advanced challenge for the best seller for last year.
QOTW: There is more than a few prompt that I am looking forward to:
True crime Book from a movie that I already saw
Nordic noir
Next book in a serie
Set at sea
Time travel
Different planet
Hi everyone! I didn't finish any books this week, but that's ok because I'm working on 11/22/63, my long book. I'm enjoying it a lot, particularly the early 60s slang. I don't care a lot about the whole Kennedy assassination thing, but I'm open to caring more as the story continues. :-)QOTW: I'm excited about next year's prompts! I am particularly jazzed about the ugly cover, and I've already posted some examples in the discussion thread about that prompt. I also am excited about the book set in a country that fascinates me; I have a life goal of reading books set in/about all the countries of the world, so it will give me a good opportunity to make progress on that.
Hi everyone! It's pretty chilly here in Michigan, but I've been glad to see the sun after a really rainy/foggy weekend.
This week I finished:
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women which was a fantastic read. However it was very tragic, and was not the best book to read on a gloomy weekend that I was already feeling pretty bummy for. Unfortunately it was down to the wire for my digital check out, so I had to power through. It was worth it, but man was I glad to move on to some fluff.
The Masterharper of Pern - This was my fluff for the week. I've re-read it more times than I can count, I just wanted to relax into an old favorite.
Binti - This was a super quick read, really more of a novella. But the author has been on my "I want to read something by her" list for awhile, and finally after a friend was singing her praises I stopped waiting for the library to get it digitally and just bought this one. It was pretty good. I felt like I could have used a little more world building, it felt like I was reading a book that was part of a wider universe, but failed to read the earlier ones so didn't know what was going on. I'm not sure if that is the case, or if she just wanted to focus on the story more than the world. It was still really good, I just had to guess a lot about the world's rules.
Currently reading:
Etiquette & Espionage - I really like Gail Carriger, and had been meaning to check this series out for a while. I found it on a book deal digitally last week at some point, so I grabbed it. It's fun so far, will probably finish today or early tomorrow.
QOTW: I am excited about the cyberpunk prompt, it's one of my favorite genres. I'll have fun looking for a new author to read. I did pick up a new book by Pat Cardigan that might work, but we'll see if I can stand waiting to read it or if I just read it now. I don't plan too far ahead for my challenges, because I tend to read based on what I feel like at the moment. So what sounds interesting now, might not appeal to me in six months. I like the lgbtq+ challenge, and the different ethnicity ones because I've been trying to be conscious about diversifying my reading. The celebrity bookclub one is convenient because I've been in Emma Watson's goodreads book club for over a year, so can just count one of those for that challenge. And since it's a feminist book club, I'm sure one of them will fall in the feminism prompt, too.
Hello from Columbus! Is anyone else hitting an end of the year reading slump? I’ve been more interested in binging some podcasts than finishing the books I’ve started. I still have two prompts left on this challenge, and about half of the book riot one but I’m just like, I need a break lol. When Dimple Met Rishi was a pick for a book riot prompt. I had been interested mainly because I loved the cute cover, and pretty much anything involving Indian culture and characters I tend to love. And this was an okay book, cute and engaging, interesting plot. But I must be getting old because YA romances annoy me to the ends of universe and back. Especially when cheesy metaphors get brought into it. At one point Rishi describes a “gooey” feeling in his chest as “like my heart wrapped in microwaves Nutella” and I gagged not only at the literal thought of that, but at the sheer cheesiness. That’s all to say, I didn’t hate the book. But I most definitely hated that first “twu wuv” fiery passion aspect.
Sour Heart was another book riot prompt pick. I actually had received a free copy of this book from Nylon’s book club but I’m just now getting around to it. I don’t know how to feel about this. On one hand, it’s well written and interesting and a series of stories that aren’t what you’d typically find. The book is set up as short stories from the perspective of young daughters of Chinese immigrants, so it was kind of eye opening in that way. But on the other hand, this book is really gross. There were some descriptions and scenarios that I could have happily gone my whole life without reading. And then someone pointed out that this book was published by Lena Dunham and now things make a bit more sense. Read this with caution, and definitely not while you’re eating.
So I’m at 40/40; 10/12 (14/24 for book riot) with 86 books read this year.
QOTW: I’m not really excited for anything in particular. The list doesn’t seem any better or worse than this years so I have no strong feelings either way lol
Greetings all! It's autumn in NYC - finally, and I woke up to the sound of drills demolishing the sidewalks around my building as the building races to get new sidewalks laid before temperatures stay too cold overnight for concrete to set. Why wait until it finally gets cold???? So annoying. I am still reading my final challenge book - Hunger’s Brides: A Novel of the Baroque which I've now been reading for a month. It's my 800+ pager - as it is 1300+ long - and an oversized book to boot. Not a quick read, however, I'm now in the final 300 pages and its moving faster - for now - as it's purely narrative. The book is a fascinating amalgamation of narrative story, fictionalized dissertation, poetry, diary entries, letters, all bouncing between 2 time periods, and including lots of philosophical and historical analysis. I've never encountered anything quite like it before. I'm totally immersed in it. My crazy work schedule permitting, I hope to finish it by the next check in.
That's all I'm reading too.
QOTW: I'm looking forward to all of the prompts, even the one on mental health which is probably my least favorite. I love the challenge of fitting books I own but have not read or otherwise want to read into the prompts (I have an enormous print and ebook library - no surprise). I also love thinking outside the box to fill some of the more difficult (for me) prompts. I find most of the prompts to be pretty easy to do once I let my mind free to consider possibilities. Right now I have about 6 books sitting on my bedside table that at a glance I know fit prompts. Once I finish my 800+ page gorilla....I'll figure out which ones I'm saving for 2018 prompts and which ones I just need to read now!
I was so distracted by the 2018 challenge list last week that I failed to post in weekly check-in thread, so this has two weeks of finished books...For the PopSugar challenge
Habibi - The art is beautiful! The story line didn't hold my attention, but I could appreciate what he was trying to do with a lot of it. Did I mention that the art is beautiful?
The Penelopiad - An interesting take on an alternate POV from classic literature. I didn't love it, but, again, I could appreciate what Margaret Atwood was doing with the story. To follow up, I am going to read a comic book version of the Iliad/Odessey ODY-C, Vol. 1: Off to Far Ithicaa
Not challenge related:
The Brightest Fell - Another book in my favorite on-going series. If only I could add pictures, you could see my kittens (named for characters in the October Daye series) posing with the book.
These two are becoming my annual Dia de los Muertos reads:
Ghosts
Day of the Dead
I'm now in process with my last three books.
50/52 for novels, 51/52 for graphic novels
QotW:
I am super excited about the LGBTQ+ prompt. I actually have a goal to read more books in 2018 that are by and about people who are transgender and/or gender non-binary. (For those also doing AtY transgender is a word "born" the same year as me.)
I'm lucky that where I live means that a book by a local author & a book being read by a stranger are super fun for me. (In fact, I found a stranger reading a book by a local author!) The feminist & different ethnicity prompts are another that have naturally combined for me (intersectional feminism ftw!) The childhood classic, weather element, alliteration, time of day, stage play, and based on a real person prompts are all getting me to read books that I have been wanting to read, but just haven't gotten around to. There is only one prompt that is seriously challenging for me (especially since it was a Book Riot prompt for 2017.) Overall I am pretty excited.
Hi all,I'm in Vancouver, and it's only a bit rainy. I think we may have snow later in November, it's definitely COOLER here!
I am at 39/40 and 2/12. Holy molies -- one book away!!!
I just finished reading Social Media Marketing All-in-One for Dummies, 4th Edition, for the prompt about career advice. Quite honestly, I know NOTHING about online marketing, so this book has been great. It is very thick, at 676 pages! But you don't need all parts of this book, you kind of read the bits that apply to you. I read about SEO, and using Facebook for small business promotion. It's also great to read about some of the pitfalls and issues out there. SEO is an ongoing business strategy, not something you do once and then leave alone.
Currently reading, Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo. Something refreshing and just fun. I actually laughed, and was horrified when movers threw away her stuffed animals (yes, I have stuffed animals too). I'm enjoying it so far, and it's not for the challenge.
Last prompt I have, is the "story within a story"! I am waiting for a book to come in on hold at the library...still waiting.... but it's only a matter of time.
QOTW: Pumped about the 2018 challenge. But I've done nothing about it so far. I've had a couple of ideas, but that's it. Given my "reading plans" for 2017....and many of them didn't work out, I am thinking my favorite prompt is A Book you Meant to Read in 2017 and Didn't Get To. That sounds about right :::insert snickering sound here:::: Ummm. Does one of those say a book with sports? Good lordy. No clue!
By the way, I see a lot of people mentioning the around the world book challenge. What is it? I've googled and found a lot of different challenges mentioned, but most of them seem to be "here are reading lists from books by authors from around the world", not lists of prompts that I see people mentioning.
Hello everyone! Time is going by too quickly…I have way too much to do in the next 10 days before my mother comes to stay with me for 2 weeks while I recover from surgery. Between that, work projects, finishing the 2018 extended family calendar (it is getting harder each year to be original!) and holiday prep (baking, designing a menu for 25, Xmas shopping), I am surprised I am still standing. Thank goodness for audiobooks and Pandora, which are helping my sanity. I finished another prompt this week so I’m now at 47/52 on this challenge. I’ll have at least 2 more prompts completed at next check-in, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!
I finished:
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly, #5 in the Harry Bosch series. This wasn’t quite as good as the previous books in the series, but I still enjoyed it. Bosch is flawed, and the crime is solved in a realistic manner, not with crazy technology or because of insane, hard-to-believe coincidences.
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante for a book by an author who uses a pseudonym (11). This seems to be a pretty polarizing book based on the reviews (either love or hate), but I am in the love camp. This book takes the reader back to 1950’s Naples and nails the frenemy relationship between the 2 girls. I plan to read the next installment in this series soon.
I am currently reading:
The Windfall by Diksha Basu for a book where the MC is a different ethnicity than you (31).
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austenfor a book that’s been mentioned in another book (A10).
QOTW: I’m excited for the new challenge! I’m going to take a different approach next year and not plan too much in advance. I made so many changes along the way this year, and I’m sure that will be the case in 2018 also, so I’m not going to spend too much time on it right now. Probably the prompts I am most looking forward to are Nordic noir, true crime, microhistory and based on a real person. Those are always books I really enjoy reading, but they tend to get forgotten about when shiny new releases and thrillers join the TBR pile.
Sheri wrote: "By the way, I see a lot of people mentioning the around the world book challenge. What is it? I've googled and found a lot of different challenges mentioned, but most of them seem to be "here are r..."It’s Around the Year and it’s a group here in Goodreads. They have a fun and elaborate voting procedure to make up their own 52 prompt challenge. I intend to do it next year.
Sheri wrote: "By the way, I see a lot of people mentioning the around the world book challenge. What is it? I've googled and found a lot of different challenges mentioned, but most of them seem to be "here are r..."I think the group you're talking about is Around the Year in 52 Books. It's another group here on Goodreads. When I joined Goodreads, I joined our Popsugar group first, and love being here. I also kept hearing about that challenge & looked it up, then joined it, too. What I liked about it is that the AtY52 group makes their own challenge of 52 books to read in a year based on suggestions from the members. We finished putting the 2018 challenge together about a month ago (or so, I can't really remember), and so we've had a while to get our lists together & start planning for next year. As with the PS list, there are still prompts you love and prompts you hate, with more falling somewhere in the middle, but it's a fun process, and you get to know that your suggestions & votes helped make the challenge that you're working on throughout the year. I plan to do both the AtY52 & PS challenges next year together, so we'll see how that goes... :)
Greetings from Idaho!This last week consisted of me finding out about the new challenge and deciding to join the group here. And having to resurrect my Goodreads account to do it -- I started one in 2011 because my boss suggested all employees get an account (I work at a public library), and then I never did anything with it. Time to rectify that, I suppose...
I finished one book this week -- This Book Is Full of Spiders, sequel to one of the books I read for this year's challenge (John Dies at the End). These books are surreal horror mixed with liberal amounts of dark humor, and are NOT for everyone's tastes... but they're entertaining in their own right. Now to hunt down the latest book in the series, What the Hell Did I Just Read...
Started but didn't finish The Pleasure of My Company. I like Steve Martin as a comic actor, but not sure how well I like him as a writer. Ah well.
Picked up and started Brat Pack America: Visiting Cult Movies of the '80s, a book about the locations where beloved movies of the '80s such as Goonies, Heathers, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, etc. were filmed. I have a soft spot for the movies of the '80s, so if nothing else this should be an informative read.
Think I have all the books for the PopSugar challenge lined up. And now we wait...
QOTW: I'm looking forward to most of the prompts, really -- some of the prompts point to the sorts of books I normally don't read (like true crime and Nordic noir), but seeing as the point of the challenge is to expand your reading horizons, that's not a bad thing! I'm particularly looking forward to "a microhistory" and "a book that comes out in 2018."
It’s chilly here in Denver and threatened to snow a few times but it was just a very light dusting. My daughter is really into Frozen and she wants to build a snowman, so she asks me daily when it’s going to snow. My reading slump of ebooks continues, but I’m really enjoying my audio book,The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War. It’s fairly long, but I think I’ll be finished sometime over the weekend and then it will go in the prompt for season in the title.
QOTW: I initially had a bit of a negative reaction to the list - it feels like there’s a lot of overlap with Around the Year (three water related prompts!) and some with past challenges (Book Riot had a sports prompt this year too!) and there are a few that initially felt like I would und dislike them (true crime, sports). But when it comes down to it, I generally end up finding a book I will enjoy for prompts - like, The Boys in the Boat was one of the best books I’ve read this year and it’s about sports, which I initially wasn’t enthused to see on the Book Riot list. So I’m not really worried about enjoying the books I’ll eventially read, it just didn’t fill me with excitement immediately.
My fav prompts are the next book in a series (I’m in a sci-fi fantasy book club, so it feels like I start a new series almost monthly!), the problem facing society and the villain/anti-hero were both things I suggested (yay!), and I like tasks that push me to read diversely, so all of those I’m happy with.
One thing I’m going to let myself do in 2018 is count rereads. I’d like to complete Book Riot, Pop Sugar and ATW, as well as reading my book club books and the selections from the 1001 list with a Goodreads group. I think that is achievable in terms of numbers but the one thing I’ve put off this year is rereading some series books that I’d need a refresher on to finish a series or just for fun. So, since my goal is not to double dip and the number of challenges I’m interested in completing requires a lot of on-task choices, I’m no longer going to consider rereads a problem.
I’m going to do Around the Year in order of tasks, I think, unless that starts to feel like too much. It’ll be a challenge since I’m using the library system almost exclusively. So for Pop Sugar, I intend to plan less. I’m reading through the threads to get ideas and get excited, but I’m not going to make a plan.
I'm really excited that the new list was put out - haven't assigned any books to the prompts yet, but definitely starting to think about it.I have not had a lot of finished books lately - I have at least 3 in progress for some reason, I keep bouncing around.
One I did finish - Chocolat by Joanne Harris, it's one of those that we talked about where I recognize what a good book it is but I didn't love it for myself. I think the hard-line division between good and evil, and whom was chosen for each side, was done simply to provoke and was the easy way out. I rated it 3 stars.
QOTW: I'm excited about the prompt about a country that fascinates me and the advanced prompt for a book that ties to my ancestry.
I see a lot of challenging prompts but only 1 that I probably won't do. I will say that prompts that make me figure out when something was published - or figure out what I want to read from that year - are annoying, I feel like it takes forever to find something to fit that and half the time I start a book only to realize the original publication date was something different.
Greetings! It's chilly and rainy here today, but nothing too bad.I only finished one book this week. It would have been more but the new list is very distracting! I'm at 50/52. All I have left is to sit down and read the rest of RBG and to listen to my career advice book, which I bought last year and have been saving for December because it's about Santa.
I finished Girl Waits with Gun. I may or may not use the third book in the series for the novel based on a real person prompt next year.
Currently Reading:
Lady Cop Makes Trouble, the next book in the series.
Lily and the Octopus which I am enjoying so much I know I would have finished by now if not for the new list distraction. I was actually sitting on the bus smiling as soon as I started it.
QOTW I'm most looking forward to microhistory, time travel, heist, movie, and all of the diversity prompts. (intersectional feminism ftw)
I mentioned Uprooted in last week's post, which I finished on the 3rd. Good stuff.I've started Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, which I have in both paper and audio, and I think it will take both to see me through. Better this than any other book I bought on a trip, however; I'm lousy at choosing books for myself and don't want to reread any of those.
QotW:
I'm looking forward to a childhood classic I've never read. I read a lot when I was a kid, but there are a lot of books people my age seem to think were compulsory, that I never laid eyes on. Sometimes it's a disappointment -- I didn't enjoy Mary Poppins much -- but others are a revelation.
Sara wrote: "The only prompt I have left is a book bought on a trip. I don’t buy books on trips! I have a few that I bought at a book fair that’s more than an hour from my house…so it’s kind of a trip to go there. But I’m not really feeling any of those right now. Any creative ways to get through this last prompt?"I think a long drive to a store counts, and actually if you "made a trip" to a nearby bookstore, it would technically fit the prompt! If you're willing to make it "A book bought on a trip" rather than "A book YOU bought on a trip," we could have a thread of recommended books community members bought on trips, and you could choose from that!
Kenya wrote: "Now to hunt down the latest book in the series, What the Hell Did I Just Read..."
I just finished this and I loved it! I feel like it has a more coherent narrative arc than the first two, without losing the zany inappropriateness. Wong's other book Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits is quite good too - slightly less kooky and more about character and plot, but lots of fun. I hope he writes a sequel.
So, yes. Greetings from North Carolina. I'm LOVING the cold dreary weather - if only I could spend less time driving kids to activities in it and just curl up with books more!
I'm done with the challenge, but this week I also finished Leviathan Wakes, which was my original "recommended by a librarian" book. I actually had a librarian stop me as he was checking out another sci-fi book I was getting, and tell me if I liked stuff like this I absolutely had to read LW. I liked it a lot - 4/5 stars for me. The pacing was a little off for my tastes - it's long and has more of a narrative sine wave than a single arc - but it was really well done and you come to love the characters.
Now I'm super excited to be starting The Ceremonies, which came in through interlibrary loan all the way from the University of Virginia library! It's an expanded version of The Events at Poroth Farm, which I really liked.
I'm SUPER STOKED for "A book published in 2018" because The Broken Vow is coming out next summer and I really loved Spill Zone, which I read for this year's challenge.
I'm unapologetically bending the list to my tastes, because life is hard and I just need to read stuff that makes me happy. I have no interest in sports, so Beartown is my choice for that. I'll probably liberally construe "a local author" to suit my tastes. It'll still push me to read things I might not otherwise, but I refuse to slog through something I don't like!
If you like the What the Hell Did I Just Read series, he is a regular contributor to Cracked and often appears on their podcasts! I love the Cracked podcasts!
I finished Moonglow, which would fit a few different prompts for next year, I think: loosely speaking, mental health plays a big role, although I wouldn’t say it was ABOUT mental health. It was nominated for a GR choice award, the author is local (to me!), it was set in the 50s through 80s, and if nothing else, I gave it 5 stars so it was recommended by me! It took me most of the week fo finish. I think people who like family sagas, the space race, stories about loving but troubled marriages, and good writing would enjoy it.
Sourdough was quick and really fun. Another 5 star book for me, which makes 3 in a row! A great novel for foodies and Bay Area residents.
QOTW: I think I am most excited about childhood classic, novel based on a real person, villain/anti-hero, different planet - partly because I am excited about the boos I’ve already picked. Of the categories that I’m not sure about, I’m most excited to hunt for books to fit time of day in title, ugly cover, and of course published in 2018.
It's been a horrible week on a personal level and with nanowrimo sucking up my reading time, the only thing I finished was Zombie Powder: Can't Kiss the Ring (of the Dead)QOTW - I have to admit I'm one of the ones grumbling about the 2018 list. That said, there are several I'm looking forward to: true crime (since I have dozens of those lying around the house), an LGBTQ book, a book about a country that fascinates me should be easy as all places have a fascination for me, set on a different planet and the one set at Halloween will be fun. I'm undecided if I'll do the advanced list as none of those are calling my name.
A lovely day in Northern Colorado, and tomorrow should be even nicer. It should be a good day to hit the Friends of the Library book sale. :-)Last week I finished two books, and one even ticks off a challenge prompt!
An Eye for Murder will probably get 3 stars from me. The premise was interesting but the dialogue felt stiff and there was an all-around feeling of internal inconsistency throughout. It didn't help that I felt weird sitting in public and reading a book with a swastika on the cover. (I have a very nice book-wrap somewhere. I should find it.)
Poe is my non-Christmas holiday book, as it's set around Halloween. I don't really recommend it, though the audiobook reader did a great job with what he had to work with. The story held some promise plot-wise, but I wanted to smack the protagonist for being such a juvenile, arrogant twit.
QotW: I'm doing some grumbling about a few of the prompts, but overall, I'm excited about the new list. I'm probably most looking forward to the local author prompt. I have a lot to choose from, and I like supporting other local writers whenever I can. I currently have Perfectly Undone down for this prompt, but if I finish that one this year, maybe I'll go with Laura Resau or Jason Bovberg. It's also not too much of a stretch to include Connie Willis, Carrie Vaughn, Paolo Bacigalupi, Molly Tanzer, Jennifer Kincheloe, Stant Litore, Kevin Hearne, or C.J. Box.
Greetings from cold and wet Copenhagen... I am staying indoors today with hot chocolate and my books :-)I finished:
May I Have Your Attention, Please?
The Obsession
Six's Legacy
Unbelievable
Unfinished Business
A Lady by Midnight
Currently reading:
The Next Always
Do You Want to Start a Scandal
Nine's Legacy
Dracula
I keep starting new books, so finally finished some loose ends this week. (Even though I feel like I was in here reading/giving suggestions on all the prompts all week. Yay!) Then ended up starting new ones again. I always have at least one audiobook for driving and one paperback/ebook going usually more depending on what I am in the mood to read. But since we are nearing the end of the year and December is always extremely busy. I thought I should get some of them closed.
Took a trip to the library ended up taking home 12 books and 3 of them are monsters so even though my intentions were to only have 1-2 books going in to the last months of the year I now have a huge pile I cant wait to get my hands on. Well well... I hope to get the time to read them.
QOTW: There may be prompts that at first I thought "oh no" but then I see all of your suggestions on books and authors I have never heard or thought of and then my TBR list grows. If there is a prompt that I really struggle with I find a way to interpret it to books I want to read even though they may not be my go to genres. Even in the genres you usually read you can find books that are just bad, so I take it as it comes. This year opened up new genres to me and some really surprised me and others I ended up to DNF (- I am especially looking at you Jonathan Strange - 300 pages and I just couldn't do it anymore )
My biggest problem now is I have to wait all the way to January to begin some of the books I have decided to read for the challenge. The struggle is real.
It's a foggy rainy cold and unfriendly day outside - they said there will be snow on the weekend - so perfectly fine weather for a good tea, a fat book and a cat purring on my chest ^^ Additionaly a got a brand new libary membership yeahhhy. I finished Markus Heitz : Krieg der Alten Seelen this week. Would be "War of the Old Souls" in english. Hm not so sure about it. It's definitly not as good as usual but I'm still ok with it. There is a second part - so hopefully the very tangled story will be resolved in the next one. If I hadn't read his previous works I would have been absolutely helpless though.
I startet Genevieve Cogman : The Invisible Library and am about 60% in.. finally things start to happen. I truely hope this will speed up some more because I like this approach to a steampunk, multiversal, book loving setting. And there are 2 more in the series.
As for the QOTW I'll still stick with local authors -albeit Heitz' last one I read see above. He's still one of my favorites... and possibly the differnt planets setting, for I was planning the Martian for quite a while now.
For this week's check-in, I finished three books -- one of which fit a prompt, so now I'm down to my last one! Here's what I finished:
* Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, which I used for "A book you've read before that never fails to make you smile." I'd originally planned to save this for December, but, I decided to check out the ebook last weekend since it was available from my library. I wanted to have something to read on my Metro ride to/from the DC Heart Walk, and didn't feel like bringing a physical book. I finished it before I got back to the Metro stop I'd parked at after the walk, and it definitely fit the prompt since I found myself smiling as I relived Fudge's adventures :) Since I read more than half on the ride down, I ended up checking out a second ebook before I headed back home thanks to the Smithsonian WiFi :)
* Evil Under the Sun, which was my book club's pick for November. We've decided to postpone the discussion until next month because we all have scheduling issues this month.
* The Language of Secrets, which confirmed this is going to be a series I want to keep reading. Intriguing characters and complex plots and issues -- really good!
That brings me to 39/40 and 12/12 for the challenge. The last prompt I need to complete is the "book you bought on a trip." I decided to use one I bought at a mystery conference since I traveled to pick up my Mom and we stayed at the hotel where it was held even though it was only about 20 miles from my house. I started reading it earlier this week, so I should be done with the challenge before the end of the month!
I'm currently reading:
* A Death Along the River Fleet, which is the book I bought at the mystery conference and am using for the last prompt I need to complete; and,
* The Price of Salt, which I'm reading for the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge (using it for the "Read an LGBTQ+ romance novel" prompt). I've got two more prompts to finish for that one and am on track to complete it before the end of December.
QotW:
While I felt like some of the prompts were too similar to ones included this year, I'm looking forward to participating again in 2018. I've been trying not to focus on the lists yet because I want to make sure that I don't start until January :)
The prompts I'm most looking forward to are "the next book in a series you started," "a childhood classic you've never read," and "your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges." This was my first year participating, so I think it will be fun to check out the prompts from 2015 and 2016. I really loved the "a book you loved as a child" prompt from this year -- it made me want to go back and re-read all of the Ramona Quimby books. The 2018 prompt gives me the perfect excuse to do just that!
Just want to share this absolutely awesome list of books - old, new, young, adult - that I saw yesterday. Might help fill a few remaining prompts for this year, and will definitely help fill prompts for next year, including that feminism one, but also many others. Bookmark it!https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/th...
I'm a few days late checking in, but I just finished my 48th book for the challenge. 4 more to go! My most recent finish was for category 52 - a book based on mythology. I read The Lightening Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1). I had seen the movie a while back and kept meaning to read the book, so I'm glad I finally did. It was super predictable, and not just because I saw the movie, but other than that, very good. I love the humor in it. ☺️
Getting super cold here in CT the past few days! I cant wait for thanksgiving and then to set up the Christmas tree.I read one book this week bringing me to 48/52.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for a book you loved as a child.
QOTW:
I feel like there are a lot of similarities with this years challenge, but I'm most excited for true crime and country that fascinates me.
I’ve been taking a break from the challenge the last few weeks, and now realize that I better focus if I’m going to finish! Im at 38/40, and 8/12, so a fair amount of reading left to do.This week I knocked off:
Lincoln in the Bardo for the non human prospective prompt. This one was really hanging me up as none of the suggestions really captured my interest. I liked this better than I thought I would, as I was wary of such an unconventional structure. I found this an emotional, engaging and quick read. Maybe it didn’t live up to all the hype for me, but it was highly original and very well done.
Homegoing - I bought this book on a recent trip to Aspen. Gut wrenchingily sad, but wonderful. Glad I waited until I got home, definitely not a light hearted vacation read, but I learned things I didn’t know about slavery and the aftermath, and was emotionally engaged throughout.
I’m currently reading my childhood book, the only thing left is the book by a person I admire. I don’t have anything waiting that fits this, so I’m still open to suggestion here. I’m still deciding whether to let the Advanced challenge go... the 800page book and the mythology prompts seem a little too much like work for me to finish by the end of the year.
QOTW: I have lots of books on the shelf that will fit these ... true crime, LGBTQ, fascinating countries, so I’m in for next year too!
Hello readers! I'm reading my last prompt right now and am so excited to finish the challenge! I did the challenge in 2016, but sort of fizzled out during the summer and never finished, so this year I was determined to complete all the prompts.
I'm currently reading My Absolute Darling for IRL book club. Be warned--there is every kind of child abuse within this book.
Also reading Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder for the book mentioned in another book prompt. This was mentioned in The Six: The Lives of the Mitford Sisters
As for the 2018 Challenge, there were many prompts I liked. Least favorites are: book set on a different planet and cyberpunk. The prompts I am most excited about are: next book in a series, a book published in 2018, Goodreads Choice winner, and a book I meant to read in 2017. These are easy prompts for me--I already had some books lined up that fell right into these slots.
I'm excited to get started!
Hi from Sydney! I skipped last week's check in as didn't have much of an update. This week I finished one book and although it didn't count towards the challenge it does mean that I've reached my 2017 reading goal!So no movement to my challenge totals:
40/40 + 10/12 = 50/52
Total books read in 2017:
60 (50 for PopSugar challenge + 10 non challenge)
Completed:
Taken for Dead by Graham Masterton. Masterton's storytelling never fails to disappoint and I love the character development of the lead detective, Katie Macquire. Each book in the story subtly weaves and develops her life story. Can't wait to read the next book in the series, Blood Sisters which I'll get on loan from the library.
Rating: 4 stars
Currently reading:
Outlander - I have to keep returning to this book but have managed to make more progress and am now 50% completed on Kindle. Half down, half to go. Think it will be another couple of weeks until I finish it. So different reading an 800+ page book and the pace really lacks for me, as I usually enjoy true crime/ thrillers which are quick, punchy page turners.
American Gods - started this yesterday and this will be for my last remaining prompt of 'Book based on mythology'. I've heard a lot of good things on Goodreads and online about this book, so my hopes are high and it will be the first Neil Gaiman I've read, and always like trying new authors.
QOTW:
I really like most of the 2018 challenge prompts. I think my top 3 would have to be True Crime, Mental Health and a book about twins. All of these prompts were ones I had on my suggestion list to PopSugar so I can't wait to read them! Also looking forward to expanding my reading journey with the diverse range of prompts such as stage play or musical, feminism and different ethnicity to me. I've been developing my list for next year and pleased to say can fulfil most prompts with books I own and are on my TBR list. Yay for 2018!
I've been reading The Lonely Hearts Hotel I am way off 2017 challenge but I am enjoying the book!For 2018, I am excited about many prompts. I am a socialist and social worker so I am most looking forward to a book with a LGBTQIA protagonist and a book about mental illness and feminism.
I finished the 40 books challenge this week! I now have 2 more books for the extra/advanced challenge to be done. I've saved my 800+ pages book for last because I am looking forward to savoring it... the third book in the Outlander series, Voyager.I finished A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles this week. I love reading books with Russian history. Count Rostov was very much the gentleman living in a time in which he was no longer welcome. It was a bit slow at times, but overall I liked this book a lot.
QotW: I love how the Popsugar challenges push me to read things I normally wouldn't. Sometimes I am happily surprised to find a book I didn't expect to like yet I did. And sometimes I read a real dud. I decided to do this challenge last year, and this year, because I wanted to expand my horizons with my reading.
With that in mind, I am looking forward to all the prompts. I think it's fun searching for a book I want to read in each slot and I think it's fun finding spots for books I've wanted to read but have put off. The one I'm looking forward to the most? If I had to pick just one, I'd say it's the one where I get to pick a prompt from previous years. I'm going to pick a prompt from last year, a book recommended by a family member. My mom picked a great one last time, and I know she will again. (No pressure, ha!)
Mod
(Yes, I have emailed Goodreads Help - I'll let you know what they say)
It's not just you! I randomly added some books I read pre-Goodreads, but it doesn't want to keep the changes when I update the "date read."
Please let us know if you get a helpful response from GR Help.
Nadine, I noticed a few days ago that the “date read” column wasn’t sorting properly. All of my books were showing up, just not in date order despite sorting by date.
Mod
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Voyager (other topics)A Gentleman in Moscow (other topics)
The Lonely Hearts Hotel (other topics)
Taken for Dead (other topics)
Blood Sisters (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Genevieve Cogman (other topics)Markus Heitz (other topics)
Connie Willis (other topics)
Laura Resau (other topics)
Jason Bovberg (other topics)
More...
The monthly reading challenge list for 2018 has been finalized. You can go here to see the list: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
I will open up nominations by the end of the week for the January, February and March books so be thinking of what you think will be a good fit for those months.
Books finished:
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town
The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris - not my favorite of Jenny Colgan's books, but it wasn't bad.
Barefoot Summer - used this for my book with a season in the title.
Almost Done:
The Four Tendencies: The Indispensable Personality Profiles That Reveal How to Make Your Life Better
I am only one book away from finishing my 2017 challenge! The only prompt I have left is a book bought on a trip. I don’t buy books on trips! I have a few that I bought at a book fair that’s more than an hour from my house…so it’s kind of a trip to go there. But I’m not really feeling any of those right now. Any creative ways to get through this last prompt?
Question of the week: There has been a lot of grumbling about some of the prompts for 2018, but what prompt(s) are you really looking forward to?